Games We Play
by StargateChloe
Summary: The Powells visit New York City.
1. Duck Duck Goose

Adrian and Evelyn Powell had just gotten back from a session with Dr. White, the new marriage counselor. Adrian went to the bar and fetched them some scotch and two glasses.

"So, are you feeling better about things now, my darling?" Adrian asked as he sat down next to his wife.

"Yes, and you're right. If you did have designs on Valentina, why are you sending her to live clear across the country?"

"Exactly! And of course, now that I've had time to think about it, it was quite inconsiderate of me to offer the penthouse to Valentina before consulting you first. You have my most profound apologies. Is there anyway I could make it up to you?"

"Well, there _is_ one little thing I would like to ask."

"Consider it done, my love. Now what is it?"

"You know our new maid, Gloria?"

"You mean that thing that waddles like a duck and talks even worse? What about her?"

"Well, even though I have to use simple phrases and even a little bit of sign language with her, she does clean better than any of the maids we've had in a very long time, and she could certainly vacuum circles around Valentina."

"You want to let Valentina go when she gets back from New York." Adrian said, matter-of-factly.

Evelyn nodded. "Let's face it: if she's starting fashion school in the fall, she won't really be able to work here full time. And even if she was, she's just going to be quitting in a few years, anyway. And I really, really like Gloria. Can we keep her? Please?" Evelyn look at Adrian like a little girl begging her daddy to let her keep a puppy she had found.

Adrian started to chuckle. "All right. We'll let Valentina know the situation while we're there."

"There?"

"Oops!" Adrian clasped his hand over his mouth. "It was meant to be a surprise!"

"What"

"Oh, I might as well tell you now. As we both know, your birthday is coming up, and I was going to surprise you with a trip to New York."

"To see Valentina?"

"No. To see Uncle Tom and Aunt Rebecca."

Evelyn got really excited. "I don't know what to say! It's going to be so amazing!"

"Yes, Uncle Tom just retired, so now that they have more time on their hands, they want to spend more time with us."

"That's just wonderful!" Then, Evelyn thought for a moment. "Wait. Whenever we went to New York, we used to stay in the penthouse. What about this trip?"

"We're still going to stay there."

"What about Valentina?"

"What about her?"

"Will she be staying a hotel room or something?"

"Why would she? The condo has two bedrooms."

"So, it will be all three of us together?"

"Why not? We've all lived together before."

"Yes. Here. Where I could go off to my own corner and have one of my little fits in peace. There's quite a bit of difference between this mansion and the penthouse in New York."

"I know it will be a little cramped, but it's only for a week. Besides, it's the perfect opportunity to show you that she is absolutely no threat whatsoever. Furthermore, she's probably going to be so busy with work, we'll hardly ever see her. So, what do you say?"

Evelyn took a deep breath. "Very well. But we are taking the master suite and putting her in the guest suite, right?"

"Of course, Darling."

"So, what time frame are we talking?"

"Well, your birthday is Friday, so I was thinking we could leave first thing Thursday morning. And then, we would leave Friday week so that we could have some time to rest before-"

"Barrett's birthday."

"Exactly. I still can't believe we haven't been to his gravesite since the funeral."

"Well, you were so insistent that we suppress any memory that we had of him. And I never thought I could cope with going out there by myself."

"Do we still want to have the cake and gifts? I haven't ordered the Armanti tux, yet."

Evelyn thought for a moment. "Well, we could still have a cake, but let's skip the gifts and instead, plant some daffodils at his grave."

"Splendid idea, Evelyn. Now, why don't you go and start packing for our trip?"

"Very well, then." Evelyn got up and went off to their bedroom.


	2. Mother May I?

"Well, it looks like she's certainly dressed this place down." Evelyn said when the Powells got to the penthouse. It was neat and tidy, but they could definitely tell that Valentina had made it hers. There were pictures of her parents and Remi on the mantle of the fireplace, as well as some Hispanic style rugs on the floor.

"Doesn't look bad at all." Adrian said as he looked around.

Evelyn shot him a dagger look. "It looks like something you'd see if you were visiting somebody in Burbank. And she calls herself a designer."

"Evelyn, I know you're not too fond of her, but could you please try your best to actually be nice this week? Please? For me?"

Evelyn took a deep breath. "All right. I promise not to say anything rude to her face, but I'm still going complain about her behind her back."

"If you could keep that down to a minimum as well, I would greatly appreciate it."

"I'll do my best. I'm going to call Aunt Rebecca and tell her that we've arrived."

"All right."

Just then, Valentina came bouncing through the door. "Mr. Powell! You made it!" She ran up to him and gave him a great big hug.

He swooped her up and twirled her around. "How are you, my darling girl?"

"Doing great! Especially now that you're here! Where's Evelyn?"

"Oh, she's calling our relatives and letting them know we're here. So, tell me, how are you liking the Big Apple?"

"Well, it's a lot different from Beverly Hills, but I like it."

"That's great to hear!"

Just then, Evelyn came back into the living room. "Hello, Valentina." She did her best to be polite. She had conditioned herself to pretend she was talking to Taylor Stappord, that gold digging whore that Michael left Olivia for.

"Hello, Mrs. Powell. Did you have a good trip?"

"I don't have any complaints _at this moment._"

Adrian gave Evelyn the evil eye before turning back to Valentina. "So, Valentina was just telling me about her work."

"Oh, yes, it's so exciting to work with some of the leaders of the industry. I was just coming back home to get a couple things, and then I'm back to the office." Valentina said as she went into the master suite.

Adrian smiled proudly as he watched Valentina leave

Evelyn cleared her throat.

"Hmm?" Adrian turned to his wife.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Adrian, I thought Valentina was going to let us have the master suite."

"She must have been so busy with work that she hasn't had time to. I'll make sure she moves her things this evening."

"Thank you. Also, Aunt Rebecca wanted to know if we wanted to dine with them this evening."

"Sounds fine to me."

"Great! I'll go call her back and tell her to expect us about seven."

As Evelyn was leaving, Valentina came back in.

"Hey, Mr. Powell, you want to come with me and see my office? It has a really great view of the Empire State Building."

"Maybe some other time. Evelyn and I already have plans."

Valentina pouted. "But I haven't seen you in so long, and I can't wait to show you my latest designs. After all, you're the one that made it happen. I don't know how I could ever thank you."

Adrian hesitated and then pulled out his phone to look at it. "Well, it's only four-thirty, and we're not supposed to be there until seven, so why not?"

"Great!"

"Oh, before we leave, Evelyn wanted me to remind you that you promised to move your things into the guest bedroom."

"Um, yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You see, I have a lot of my design stuff scattered all over. It would take me hours to rearrange everything back to how I had it, not to mention having to move my sewing machine, and you two are only going to be here a week, so…"

"You want me to try and change Evelyn's mind? That's going to be quite the task."

"But it just seems like a lot of work for just a few days. Please?"

Adrian sighed. "I'll see what I can do. But it's going to be your fault if I end up on the couch."

Valentina laughed. "All right. Shall we go then?" She asked as she grabbed his arm.

Just then, Evelyn came out of the guest room. She noticed that Adrian and Valentina were heading out the door. "Well, well, well, where are we off to now?"

"Oh," Valetina piped up. "I just wanted to show Mr. Powell my office. You don't mind, do you?"

"It won't be long. I promise I'll be back in time for our appointment."

_Appointment? _Evelyn thought to herself. He made it sound like they were going to the dentist or something, not having dinner with cherished relatives that they haven't seen in years. Evelyn tried to keep her composure.

"Well, it does sound like fun. Maybe I could tag along?"

"Don't you want to get rested for tonight?" Adrian asked. "You were complaining about how tired you were on the jet."

Evelyn sighed. "You're right, Darling. You two go and have a good time."

Adrian quickly kissed Evelyn on the cheek before darting out the door.


	3. Tug-o-War

Author's note: Okay, so someone commented that Valentina is getting on their nerves. I'm actually relieved. I was thinking the Valentina fan base was pretty big. Evidently, the Evelyn fan base is a little bit bigger, at least on this site. Personally, I started out loving Valentina at the beginning of the show and adored her for most of Season 1. For me, she started going downhill when she and Remi had dinner with her parents and has been getting worse ever since.

Evelyn tried not to get jealous as she watched her husband leave with the young, gorgeous lady. Dr. White was right: even if they were having an affair, getting angry and throwing a fit was just going to push Adrian further away. She decided to sneak into the master suite to have a nice relaxing soak in the jacuzzi tub. The bathroom in the guest room only had a small shower, and there was no way she was going to settle for that. Valentina had random bottles scattered all over. For a maid, sorry, former maid, Valentina was quite the slob. Evelyn grabbed a nearby basket and used it to scoop up all the containers she didn't recognize. The way she saw it, Valentina was moving into the guest suite tonight, anyway. Evelyn was just helping her pack. After all, it might be Valentina's room, but it was her condo. The bath definitely did her good. She felt like a new woman. She had just finished putting on her make-up and was trying to decide whether to wear her hair up or down when she looked up at the clock. It was almost a quarter after six, and there was still no sign of either Valentina or Adrian. They should have been back by now. At first, she got this feeling that something was not quite right, but then she quickly pushed it away.

_He probably just got caught in rush hour traffic. _She thought to herself as she decided to call Adrian's phone. "Hello, Adrian? Darling? It's almost time to leave for dinner. Where are you?"

"Six-fifteen already? I am so sorry. Time just got away from me."

"So, you're still at Valentina's office?"

"Well, yes. I'm not sure if I'll have to make it all the way home. Can I meet you there?"

"I suppose."

"I love you."

Evelyn hung up without responding.

Adrian sighed as he hung up the phone. He could tell that he was upsetting Evelyn, which was the last thing he wanted to do. But he also enjoyed being with Valentina. After years of every female in his life just seeing him as some creepy stalker, she just saw him as an actual person. Valentina was having the time of her life introducing Adrian to all of her colleagues. Just when he thought he was going to be able to get away, someone else would pop up that Valentina would insist Adrian just had to meet. Even though he sometimes got a little board with her rambling on about various dress styles, she was still fun to be around. Watching her eyes light up as she showed him around his workplace was quite refreshing. However, he was

"That was Evelyn, wasn't it?" The young designer asked.

"Yes, I'm supposed to be at my cousin's in less than an hour."

"Wait, I thought he was your uncle."

"He's married to Evelyn's mother's sister, but our fathers are brothers. Evelyn was staying with them one summer while her parents went to the Bahamas, and that's how I met her."

"Oh. Where does he live?"

"Clear on the other end of Manhattan."

"Well, you have time for just one more thing I wanted to show you." She gave him a little pout.

Adrian sighed. "I really need to be leaving now."

Valentina sighed. "Oh, all right."

Just then, another young man showed. "Valentina! Is this the guy you're always going on about?"

"Sure is. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

Meanwhile, Evelyn had just gotten to her aunt and uncle's doorstep and rung the doorbell. A few seconds later, a short, chubby woman with curly red hair answered the door. The two women squealed and hugged each other before the elder of the two poked her head out the door and looked around.

"Where's Adrian?" Aunt Rebecca asked

"He's not here yet?"

"No. Why should he be?"

"Well, he went off to do something earlier this afternoon, and the last time we talked, he was going to meet me here."

"Everything still all right between you two?" Aunt Rebecca asked with great concern in her voice.

"Oh, yes. Never better!" Evelyn replied, hoping she could hide the fact that she was trying to convince herself as much as if not more than trying to convince her aunt.

Aunt Rebecca was definitely not convinced, but she knew Evelyn well enough to know that she was going to share her feelings when she was good and ready to. "Well, do you want to call Adrian and tell him that we're ready to eat?"

Evelyn nodded her head. "May I go into the den?"

"Of course."

Aunt Rebecca started putting the finishing touches on the cake that she had made for dessert as Evelyn went to make her call. She felt something come up and grab her arm. The grip got tighter and tighter. She turned around.

"You jerk!" She said when she realized it was her husband. "Don't startle me like that again, especially when I'm handling-"

Uncle Tom reached over to scoop some frosting out of the bowl. He was just about to lick it off his finger when his wife grabbed his wrist. "I don't think so!" She declared. She pulled his hand closer so she could lick the frosting off herself. The two of them struggled a little more when coveted finger swiped by her nose, leaving the dab of frosting behind.

"Now look what you made me do!" She scowled at him.

"Easy access." He bent over and licked the frosting off. "Mmmm."

"Okay, I'm going to the bathroom to get cleaned up. If you mess up that cake, I'll….."

"You'll what? Send me to the couch?"

"No. Remember how I said I would tell Nigel Perkins you really were sick last Saturday?"

"Oh, God! Anything but that!"

"Then leave that cake and the frosting alone. Do we understand each other?"

As soon as she got back, Aunt Rebecca carefully inspected both the cake and the icing. "Okay, you're off the hook….. for now." Just then, they both heard Evelyn shouting from the den.

Evelyn came out of the den with a melancholy look on her face. "Adrian's not coming." She said, obviously upset.

"Does this mean that I can skip the paella and whip out the leftover chili?" Uncle Tom asked. That earned him a slap on the arm from his wife.

Evelyn started laughing. "Only if you share with me." Those two could always cheer her up.

Moments later, the three of them were hovering over the fridge.

"Is that ham loaf?" Evelyn asked. "I haven't had any ham loaf in years."

"Keep your mits off! It's mine!" Aunt Rebecca responded. "But I've got some chicken corn soup if you want it."

"Even better!" Evelyn felt like she was twelve again.

After dinner, Uncle Tom excused himself to watch a show in the den. The two women sat in the living room. Evelyn stretched out over the sofa. "That was a great supper, Aunt Becky. Don't get me wrong: gormet is nice, but sometimes, you just need some good old Pensylvania food."

"Thanks. Say, do you remember your mom telling you how we used to play tug-o-war?" Aunt Rebecca asked as she picked up a crochet project and went to work.

"Yes. Even though she was so much bigger than you, you'd always win. Are you ever going to divulge you secret?"

"I think I will. You see, both your mother and I would start out pulling with all our mights. After a while, I would let go a little bit, letting your mother think she was winning. Then, at the last moment, I would yank so hard it caught her off balance, and she would fall right down."

"So, why are you telling me this now?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. It just felt like something you needed to hear right now." It was nice when they could drop the whole upper-crust facade and go back who they really were.

Evelyn thought about what Aunt Rebecca said. She was still furious with Adrian, but now, she understood that her aunt told her that story for a reason. When she got back to the penthouse, Adrian and Valentina were in the living room.

"Darling," Adrian got up and went over to Evelyn. "I am so sorry."

"So am I." Valentina added. "I just wanted everyone to meet Adrian. I am so sorry about stealing him away."

_Adrian?! _Evelyn thought to herself. She wanted to yell and scream and throw a fit. But instead…..

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Uncle Tom and Aunt Rebecca." She said as she went into the guest room.

"What's going on?" Valentina asked.

"I'm not sure," Adrian replied, "But it can't be good."


	4. Truth or Dare

The next morning…

"What the hell?!" Valentina asked as she stormed into the guest room. The Powells were just barely awake. "Mrs. Powell, what the hell did you do in my bathroom?!"

Her screeching woke Evelyn up. The redhead sat up in the bed, obviously still half asleep. "Did you say something, Valentina?" She yawned as pulled the covers off, planted her feet on the floor and reached for her bathrobe.

"Yeah, I did. Why the hell did you mess with the stuff in my bathroom?" Valentina turned the light on.

The confrontation angered Evelyn. She stood up and stood right in front of her former maid. "Okay, first of all, we must make one thing clear: Technically, it's _my_ bathroom; I'm just letting you temp-"

"You had no right to do that to my stuff!"

"Do not interrupt me, young lady. I believe you have been asked twice now to move your stuff into the guest room. Why have you not done so yet?"

"Because I don't see the point of having to move all my stuff into the guest room just for one week. That is the dumbest thing ever!"

"Well, maybe from my viewpoint, having my maid live here in my penthouse is the dumbest thing ever."

Just then, Adrian woke up. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were only half open. "What's going on out here?"

Valentina stormed over to his side of the bed. "Your wife went through my bathroom yesterday and threw all my toiletries into the wastebasket."

Adrian turned to Evelyn with a stern look on his face. "Care to explain, Darling?"

"I wanted to take a bath in the garden tub, but all her junk was in the way." Evelyn was tying the sash on her robe.

"Excuse me, but Paul Mitchell shampoo is not junk."

"You bought it at the grocery store, did you not?"

"Well yeah, but…"

"Then, it is by definition junk, and I will not have it defile my jacuzzi tub."

"You already defiled it by bathing in it."

"I would be careful if I were you. I have not fully woken up yet and I just might-"

"That's enough, Evelyn." Adrian got out of the bed and stepped in between the two women. "Valentina, why don't you go and get ready for work. Evelyn, you might want to go back a get a little more sleep. We'll discuss everything when we are all more awake."

The two women glared at each other. "One last thing," Evelyn remarked, "In the future, please knock before entering our room."

"Same goes to you and entering my room."

Adrian sighed. "This is going to be a long morning."

Two hours later...

"Happy birthday to the most beautiful woman in the world!" Adrian came in with a tray of food. "I love you, my darling!"

Evelyn sat up in the bed. "What's this?"

"Breakfast in bed, of course. I remember it being a tradition that whenever one of us had a birthday, the other would serve them breakfast in bed." Adrian set the tray down in Evelyn's lap.

Evelyn said as she took a bite. "This is absolutely delicious. Wait. Where did you get this?" She gave him a suspicious look.

"Valentina made it." He replied with a smile.

Evelyn immediately picked up her napkin and spat the contents of her mouth into it. "I'm not really all that hungry."

He gave her a look. "So, I assume you really are upset about last night?"

"Why would you say a thing like that?"

"Because you refused to eat the breakfast as soon as you found out Valentina prepared it."

"Can we not talk about this today?"

"You're the one that started this discussion."

"So, you now want to start acting childish?" Evelyn took a deep breath. "Look, Adrian, over the years, you have done some pretty horrid things to me-"

"For which I thought you had forgiven me."

"I have, but please, let me finish."

"Sorry. Please continue."

"Over the years, you have done some pretty horrid things to me, but the one thing you've never done is lie to me. So, I will ask you one more time, and this time, I don't care whether you say 'yes' or 'no' as long as it's the truth. Are you and Valetina having an affair?"

"For the last time: no, we are not." Adrian then took Evelyn's hand. "Evelyn, I swear to you, on Barrett's immortal soul, that there is nothing inappropriate going on between Valentina and I, and there never will be."

Evelyn took a deep breath. "All right then. But I still want her moved in here _tonight. _Is that clear?" Adrian was reaching under her pillow. "What are you doing?"

"Whoever made the bed yesterday morning obviously didn't do a very thorough job."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because she left this under your pillow." He held up a white envelope. "Hmmm," he read the front. "It has your name on it. I think you should open it."

Evelyn took the envelope and did as she was instructed. She gasped when she saw the contents. "Two tickets to go see _Phantom of the Opera _on Broadway? Adrian! You shouldn't have!"

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course not. Yes you should have."

"Very well then."

"So, what else did you have planned for today?"

"Well, I was thinking that after breakfast, we could go and visit some of the sights in the city. And of course, what's a trip to New York without a carriage ride through central park?"

"That sounds just lovely. But may I get a little more sleep first?"

"Of course, my darling….. after you finish your breakfast."

Evelyn scooped up a bit and held it up to Adrian's mouth. "You want to try some?"

"I thought you would never ask."

After they were done eating, Evelyn was settling in to go back to sleep when she heard some rustling going on. "What are you doing?"

Adrian had stripped down to his undergarments and was crawling into the bed. Evelyn smiled as she nestled into her husband's arms. A couple hours later, they woke up to find that it was almost noon.

"Oh, my god!" Adrian said as he looked at the clock. "The day is almost halfway over!"

"Yes, but that was a very nice nap."

"Indeed, it was, but I think we would get up and get dressed now."


End file.
